Deep Drilling in East Sumba: An Unyielding Commitment to Clean Water, Community Health, and Human Dignity.
How Fair Future and Kawan Baik’s Deep Drilling Project is Transforming the Lives of Over 2,000 People in East Sumba by Providing Sustainable Access to Clean Water
In the heart of East Sumba, close to the modest town of Lewa, a drilling rig pierces the horizon. It stands as a sentinel in a landscape where the struggle for clean water is a daily reality. This isn’t a backdrop for a fairy tale; it’s the setting of an arduous mission undertaken by Fair Future and our partners Kawan Baik.
We drill deep into the earth, more than 60 meters down, to unlock a treasure—water. The process is grueling, physically and emotionally. The machinery’s roar feels like an anthem of human will against the earth’s reluctance. It’s a colossal endeavor, especially for a small Swiss NGO like ours, but the purpose fuels us: To deliver clean water and sanitary facilities to a community of over 2,000 people.
As water finally surges from below, our team gets to work, laying down over 6,000 meters of HDPE PVC pipes. These channels snake their way into the community, filling about 15 storage tanks holding 6,500 liters each. It’s a life network, bringing not just hydration but also a new world of opportunities: improved nutrition, better hygiene, and dignity.
Adjacent to the water supply, we build the village’s first sanitary installations. A simple tap and a functional toilet might seem trivial, but here, they symbolize monumental change. Women no longer spend hours trekking for water, and children are noticeably healthier, less haunted by diseases like malaria.
Speaking of malaria, it’s not just a disease spread by mosquitoes. It thrives in communities where stagnant water is the only kind available. Clean water not only quenches thirst but also disrupts the lifecycle of disease-carrying mosquitoes. By this simple act, we are not just improving, we’re transforming lives.
Every drop of this clean water symbolizes the collective effort of everyone involved—our team, our partners, and, importantly, our supporters and donors. But this is not a celebratory epilogue; it’s a chapter in an ongoing narrative. The fight is not over. Access to clean water is a right, not a seasonal privilege.
So, we continue, undeterred by the challenges that loom large. And as we publish 60 original photos documenting this transformative project, we urge you to see each image as a call to action. They are a vivid testament to human resilience and to the will of a community to rise, even when the odds are stacked against it.
In East Sumba, water is life, a truth as unyielding as the ground we’ve broken to bring it forth. Action is the lifeblood of change, and we invite you to be part of this narrative to continue writing this ongoing story with us. Together, we give water, and we give life.
Thank you for joining our mission and becoming integral to this remarkable transformation.
Alex Wettstein – Fair Future Foundation medico-social camp in East Sumba – Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, October 25th, 2023.
Breaking Hard Ground and Shattering Barriers: A Resolve Unyielding as East Sumba’s Terrain.
The ground may be unyielding, but so is our resolve. In East Sumba, every meter we drill deep is a step closer to a life free from disease and hardship. – Alex Wettstein, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Fair Future
Journey to the Depths: A Visual Chronicle of Clean Water Drilling in East Sumba
Delving Beneath the Surface: How Deep Drilling for Clean Water is Rewriting the Narrative of Health and Opportunity in East Sumba.
Join us in exploring the transformative journey of a community uplifted by Fair Future’s relentless efforts to provide clean water through deep drilling in East Sumba.
Water is life, that’s the incontestable reality here in East Sumba. In this part of the world, it’s not a cliché; it’s a fact, as unyielding as the hard, parched soil we stand on. Today, we delve into one specific project near the small town of Lewa that fundamentally transforms a whole community—more than 2,000 people now have access to clean water and sanitary facilities, thanks to a drilling project undertaken by Fair Future, in collaboration with Kawan Baik and the local beneficiaries.
Our drilling rig punctuates the horizon, contrasting sharply with the simple, wooden homes and the vast, untamed landscapes of East Sumba. The machinery groans, vibrating through the earth to a depth of just over 60 meters. It’s a labor-intensive, resource-heavy endeavor. Drilling deep into the earth’s layers isn’t just technically challenging; it’s also emotionally draining. This is no fairy tale; the work is grueling, the sun relentless, and the stakes immeasurably high.
The reward? Water, gushing forth from underground, tapped and channelled through more than 6,000 meters of HDPE PVC pipes, collected in about 15 storage tanks, each with a capacity of 6,500 liters. It’s water for drinking, cooking, and bathing; it’s water for life, for dignity, for a future.
The story unfolds further in a suite of new sanitary installations, the first of their kind in this village. Built alongside the water supply, these facilities now offer basic sanitation—something many in the developed world take for granted. You can see the transformation in the faces of the villagers; children less plagued by gastrointestinal diseases, gardens are beginning to flourish, and improved nutrition. Women no longer trek long hours to fetch water, freeing them for other crucial tasks like childcare and education.
It’s not just the quality of life that’s transforming; it’s life itself. Clean water radically diminishes the incidence of water-borne and parasitic diseases such as malaria. You see, malaria isn’t just about mosquitoes; it’s intricately connected to water, or the lack thereof. Stagnant pools are breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Proper sanitation and clean water disrupt this vicious cycle, breaking the chain of transmission, saving lives in the process.
The change is palpable, but let’s not forget: none of this would be possible without the collective effort of everyone involved—Fair Future, Kawan Baik, the local authorities, and of course, you, our supporters and donors. Yet, it’s essential to remember that the fight is far from over. This project is a chapter in an ongoing saga, a story of struggle and resilience against the odds, because clean water is a right, not a privilege.
In a collection of 60 original photos taken by our Fair Future teams, we capture the essence of this monumental endeavour—the sweat, the toil, and the ultimate reward: water. These images aren’t just snapshots; they are testament to the will of a community to better itself and a tribute to the laborious work carried out by every hand that turned a drill, laid a pipe, or built a tank.
So here’s a challenge to you, dear reader: as you view these images and read these words, consider what clean water means to you, and what life would be without it. Let that guide you in your commitment to action, because as we know all too well, action is the lifeblood of change.
No, this isn’t a fairy tale, but it’s a story that needed to be told—directly, assertively, and without embellishment. We are here in the trenches, laying the foundation for tomorrow, for as long as it takes to see a world where access to clean water is not a lottery of geography, but a guarantee for all.
We invite you to be part of this story, to contribute to this ongoing narrative, because every drop of water counts, but every drop of support counts even more. Together, we write the next chapter. Together, we give water, we give life.
We cordially invite all captivated by this unfolding story to explore our photo gallery, witness this extraordinary effort, and further engage with our mission through our Instagram account.
Alex Wettstein – Fair Future Foundation medico-social camp in East Sumba – Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu – The October 26th, 2023.
